and that's why Reznor's so great and that's also why Spiral is better.

It's not necessarily the words (though he has some great lines, he's no David Bowie), it's the delivery.

If you have to boil it down to something simple, then Spiral is better than Fragile if only because the theme throughout Spiral is a simple, depressing yet catchy bit that actually SOUNDS like a downward spiral.

The theme throughout Fragile is a silly disco beat that doesn't sound very fragile to me.

It's not necessarily the words (though he has some great lines, he's no David Bowie), it's the delivery.

That's part of my point about the music elevating the lyrics. The delivery is part of that.

Quote from: RegularKarate

If you have to boil it down to something simple, then Spiral is better than Fragile if only because the theme throughout Spiral is a simple, depressing yet catchy bit that actually SOUNDS like a downward spiral.

The theme throughout Fragile is a silly disco beat that doesn't sound very fragile to me.

The main reason is still: Spiral = SolidFragile = Inconsistant

That's mostly true (there's really only a silly disco beat on just a couple of songs, not the whole thing). Spiral is a more solid album all the way through BUT I don't always equate that with better. I like my hoes a little rough around the edges, yaknowwhatimsayin? Makes a man feel like he's been someplace.

Trent REZNOR works in mysterious ways. He may be the brooding architect behind the epic, intricate soundscapes of Nine Inch Nails, but now he's allowing outsiders an unusual view into NIN's hit "The Hand That Feeds," with a free download of the new single's multiple tracks, allowing fans to remix, rearrange and reinterpret the song at will.

The download is available from the band's website (www.nin.com/current), delivering the song's 17 separate elements — from skittish guitars and electronics to Reznor's breathless backing vocals — into the hands of anyone with a Macintosh computer loaded with the GarageBand program.

The original version of the song is already a modern-rock radio hit and is the first sign of NIN's first album in more than five years, the song-centric "With Teeth," set for release on Tuesday.

Artists have occasionally made songs available for mash-ups and fan experiments, but rarely separated into their aural component parts. The NIN download could be a significant step for online music and communication between major artists and fans, and the results are already gathering on the Net, with more than 200 fan remixes and mash-ups available this week on www.thtffanremixes.cjb.net.

Anxious fans and amateur sound scientists have uploaded a wide variety of revisions to the site, with self-explanatory titles like "Deep House Mix," "The Banjo That Feeds" and "The Hand That Funks."

And at least one "unofficial Apple weblog" (tuaw.com) is filled with fan excitement, with such postings as: "So very, very, hot. You gotta respect TR's pure intellectual curiosity" and "A fan base is stronger when they feel a sense of connection with their idols."

That kind of reaction, Reznor says, is exactly what he hoped for: unexpected interpretations from unexpected corners.

"It's fun to play with and has yielded some amazing results," Reznor explained in an e-mail exchange with The Times. "People seemed surprised that I'd give the multi-track away. Why not?"

The idea of sharing the multiple tracks of a song with fans has interested Reznor since NIN's previous album, 1999's "The Fragile." But the technology available then was neither fan-friendly nor affordable.

Today, Apple's GarageBand program, which works much like the more sophisticated ProTools used by major recording artists, already comes loaded onto most new Macintoch computers.

"I was sitting in hotel rooms waiting to do press and started messing around with GarageBand on my PowerBook," Reznor said. "I hadn't really done anything with that software before and it suddenly dawned on me how powerful it was — and — [that] everybody with a Mac- intosh already has it sitting on their computer.

"GarageBand seemed to be a way I could give the entire multi-track master out in an easy-to-mess-around-with format again aimed at the average fan.

"I did some experimenting and within a couple of days in my spare time had the song ready to go. I thought it was really fun to play with and then had to come up with a way to convince the powers that be that it was a good idea."

That's just the beginning: Reznor plans to release the band's next single, "Only," the same way.

Reznor seems unconcerned so far with the larger implications for intellectual property, beyond a note attached to the download declaring that nothing from the tracks can be resold.

"This wasn't done to create some new industry or business model to make money," Reznor insists. "It just seemed like a cool thing to do."

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

It's all his old tricks, made dancier. I like how some songs start out sounding like they'll be mediocre but then they progress into something AT LEAST redeemable, often special! It's weird, I think this is the first NIN album I like all the way through (does that make it my favourite?). Beside You In Time is the song I've been waiting to hear since I was tall enough to reach the volume wheel .

Three listens (I'm on the third here) and it's better to me than the first time through. I think the first time through was just disapointment. It doesn't flow like the other albums and it's not as thematic. It's just a bunch of songs on a record.

Now I've kind of picked up on what he's doing here and I'm accepting it for what it is.

What do you think he is doing?

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

as for the sound... this may sound strange, but it's like he wrote some songs, had a hard-rock band cover them, then remixed that album... live.

couldn't agree more,

the last two tracks on [with teeth] are great. other than that the album sounds a lot like all the new stuff Ken Andrews has been doing post failure. be it, "Year of the rabbit" or "ON". thing is ken andrews has a better emo-esque "everyman" voice than i think Trent is going for on this album. however, it's too bad to see both Trent and Ken become diluted versions of themselves to the point of mediocrity

Quote from: Two Lane Blacktop

PS Lateralus is far superior to Aenima.

as far as sophistication yeah, but raw engergy no. aenima pulls me further into the album because i hear the passion of a not yet Stadium rock band. They don’t seem to care as much anymore, Maynard has less to say and is no longer angry (which he admits in an MTV interview) so he resorts to obscure metaphors. looks like money effects us all in bad ways.

NEW YORK (AP) - Alternative-rocker Trent Reznor testified Monday against his longtime manager, saying he was stunned to learn in 2003 that despite millions of dollars in earnings by his band, Nine Inch Nails, he was left with as little as $400,000 in cash.

"I felt I had an accountant I couldn't trust," he said in his federal civil lawsuit against John Malm. Reznor contends that his former friend duped him into signing a contract that allowed Malm to collect 20 percent of the singer's gross earnings rather than net earnings.

A lawyer for Malm, Alan Hirth, said in an opening statement that his client worked many years for no salary and kept nothing secret from Reznor.

"Of the millions upon millions upon millions that Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails made, the vast majority went into his (Reznor's) pocket," Hirth said.

Reznor testified he trusted Malm more than anyone in his life when he agreed to let him handle his finances in the 1980s as the band signed its first record contract.

"John was the business guy, and I was the guy working for nothing in the studio," Reznor told jurors.

He said the pair created their own production company and managed sales of merchandise but the expenses piled up, draining large portions of the millions of dollars the band earned with its music releases and concert tours. He admitted he ignored his finances and sometimes signed documents without reading or understanding them.

Reznor said he began to grow worried about finances when he was told during a meeting with Malm and a lawyer in 2002 that there was "cause for alarm."

The following year, he said, he asked Malm to tell him how much money he had. He said he was sent a financial statement that revealed he had at most $3 million in total assets and as little as $400,000 in cash.

Nine Inch Nails' latest single, "The Hand That Feeds," is No. 2 on Billboard's Top 20 list of modern rock tracks.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol